Field Scale Testing of RESOLVE at 2010 ISRU Analog Test

When mankind returns to the moon, there will be one aspect of the architecture that will totally change how we explore the solar system. For the first time in space exploration, we will take the initial steps towards breaking our reliance on Earth-supplied consumables by extracting resources from planetary bodies. Our first efforts in this area, known as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), will be directed at extracting some of the abundant oxygen found in the lunar regolith. But the "holy grail" of lunar ISRU will be finding an exploitable source of lunar hydrogen. If we can find a source of hydrogen that can be reasonably extracted from the regolith, it would provide a foundation for true independence from Earth consumables. With in-situ hydrogen and oxygen (and/or water) we can produce many of the major consumables needed to travel to and operate on a sustainable lunar outpost. We would have water to drink, oxygen to breath, and rocket propellants and fuel cell reagents to enable extended access and operations across the moon. NASA initiated development of an experiment package named RESOLVE (Regolith & Environment Science and Oxygen & Lunar Volatile Extraction) that could be flown to the rim or into a permanently shadowed crater to answer the questions surrounding elevated hydrogen at the lunar poles.